


Warm At Night

by MalChilling



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, a hint of r rated content, episode fic, jeff has a crush guys, just a smidge, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:14:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26401729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalChilling/pseuds/MalChilling
Summary: They end up here… because it's Greendale and the Dean bought a giant hand for no reason. He ends up on the roof sitting on the giant hand, moping, which Abed assures him was very adorable, and then the hand falls off the roof.And his heart stops.They hear the crash, and then he sees Abed’s ashen face, indescribable terror scrawled all over his face, which is a lot of emotion for Abed, which means things are really bad.“Abed, where’s the dean?” He hears himself ask, and Abed doesn't answer, instead looking at the giant hump of plastic with wide eyes, and they all move fast, lifting like their lives depend on it.
Relationships: Dean Craig Pelton/Jeff Winger
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	Warm At Night

Part of Jeff feels like Craig should be wearing a wedding dress. He rolls the iPad into the study room, taped to a broomstick and can’t believe this isn’t the craziest thing he’s done in all his years at Greendale. The people there for the ceremony don’t look as confused as they should be about why they're there, and why there is a ceremony to make someone a professor. 

He ignores the prickling jealousy he feels when he remembers his own attaining of the job, which wasn’t as special, when he cursed Abed to the skies, because if he kept looking at the Dean, he’d shake him until the silk red of the robe fell further down his pale shoulders, and he really couldn’t handle that right now. 

He thinks about Pierce’s hologram and that helps, but then Craig pats his tummy and he has to leave before he really does shake the smaller man out of that robe. 

They set the study room table on fire, and then they make a new one which gets them an F on BirdHouse Class. Somehow he ends up here, his world turned to shambles because he doesn’t feel bad about throwing Willy down the stairs, but he feels bad when he sees Craig coming down the stairs right after. 

He can just  _ feel  _ the misunderstanding building up, and doesn’t have time to appreciate the Dean in his soft grey hoodie when Craig bounds down the stairs in terror and gathers the broken plastic that was Willy’s presence. Then with a flushed face, and angry tears streaming down his face, Craig bans him from campus and sends him on paid sabbatical. 

He leaves, ignoring the security guard’s monotone repetitions that he would’ve usually found hilarious were it not for everything else. 

“I would never… hurt him…” Jeff trails off in realization. The others look up from their drinks with eyebrows raised, even Abed who is so bad at reading social cues he has to smell Annie’s hair to distinguish her from Frankie, looks at him like he’s stupid. 

“Have you told him how you feel?” 

Obviously he hasn’t, of course he hasn't. Jeff Winger doesn’t tell people how he  _ feels _ . Except for maybe his therapist, sometimes, and that’s only because she’s expensive and it’d be a waste of money if he didn’t. But thats how he ended up here, wasn’t it? By not telling people about his stupid feelings? 

Anyway, he ends up getting his ass beat in one of the weirdest fights he’s been in since that Christmas with the gym bunnies, back when Shirley was still trying to rope them into Christianity. In the end he gets carried away by Craig as everyone cheers, and he can only bring himself to protest half heartedly.

Then Frankie calls a meeting, and specifically requests that they use the iPads the felons used to use when they were still allowed on campus. Which is weird, but okay. 

Abed is having fun with it, which is nice. He plays around with the settings until his background is purple and galaxy themed. Then he overthrows them -which is exactly what Jeff knew he would do- to buy them for the school. 

But what concerns him is the fact that Craig is sitting on his lap. And he  _ likes  _ it. 

The smaller man had barged in, claiming he wanted a better connection, which is bullshit, but it doesn't change the fact that he plops himself right on his lap, and  _ won’t stop squirming _ . The soft curve of his ass is distracting, which isn't a problem as he really wasn't paying attention to begin with, but a hard on is really not what he needs at the moment. 

He grabs him by the waist and throws him off a little too roughly as he makes his escape. 

Then Craig gets crushed by a giant hand somewhere in the wilderness and roads of Colorado. It's as weird as it is concerning. 

They end up here… because it's Greendale and the Dean bought a giant hand for no reason. He ends up on the roof sitting on the giant hand, moping, which Abed assures him was very adorable, and then the hand falls off the roof. 

And his heart stops. 

They hear the crash, and then he sees Abed’s ashen face, indescribable terror scrawled all over his face, which is a lot of emotion for Abed, which means things are  _ really  _ bad. 

“Abed, where’s the dean?” He hears himself ask, and Abed doesn't answer, instead looking at the giant hump of plastic with wide eyes, and they all move fast, lifting like their lives depend on it. 

“Dean, are you okay?” He hears Annie ask, which is good because Jeff can’t bring himself to speak. His heart is beating fast, and his palms are sweaty. He’s panicking, which he’s only done a very few times in his life. He can hear the dean whimpering underneath, and it makes his heart beat impossibly faster. 

They lift the hand, and Jeff scoops Craig into his arms without thinking about it. 

“Oh my god, are you okay? Is he okay?” Annie asks. The others crowd around them, and Jeff only feels relief when Craig gasps, even if it is in pain. 

“I think I hurt my ankle.” He cries, and there’s tears streaming down his face, Jeff isn't sure if it's because he’s still upset or because he’s in pain. He hopes for the former. 

“Lets get him back inside, and check it out.” Elroy says, and Jeff nods carrying the bundle in his arms easily and setting him down in Elroy’s bed. The others hang back, Frankie helping him get rid of Craig’s shoe and sock so they can check. 

“It's not broken, so that's good. It may be sprained and it's swollen so keep your weight off it.” Frankie says after a bit of silence. Craig is leaning against Jeff’s shoulder, no longer crying but still wincing every once in a while. Jeff is resting a hand on his shoulder for comfort, and watches him nod at Frankie’s instructions. 

“You can have my bed, I suppose. Since it's partly our fault you’re hurt.” Elroy offers, bringing a glass of water and setting it on the wooden nightstand next to the bed. 

“Thank you.” Craig smiles, moving up a bit as Jeff brings the glass to his lips. He feels smaller like this, or maybe Jeff is just big, but Jeff doesn't ignore the protectiveness it brings with it anyway, instead rubbing Craig’s shoulder reassuringly as he drinks. 

Frankie smiles comfortingly, patting him on the leg before going out with the others, Elroy following close behind and shutting the partition behind him. 

“You should get some sleep.” Jeff says, having put down the glass after a few seconds of silence, watching as Craig’s eyes flutter with effort to stay open and extract himself gently from the bed, laying Craig down as gently as he could without jostling him. Craig hums his acknowledgement when Jeff covers him with one of the blankets, and Jeff resists the urge to snort with amusement at the sight. 

He goes to leave, a hand reaching for the partition when a surprisingly warm and soft hand wraps around his own, doing their best to tug him back. He turns to see a bleary pair of eyes open and a soft smile forms against his will when Craig blushes and takes his hand back, tucking it in against himself. 

“Could you… stay with me, please?” Craig asks, a shy softness that makes Jeff feel a little too much like scooping him into his arms again. Which he couldn’t because- ankle. 

“Yeah, okay.” 

The response surprises the both of them, but what surprises them more is Jeff kicking off his shoes and climbing into the bed with him. He settles into bed and lifts the heavy blanket so that he’s covered as well. He’s a little uncomfortable, considering the fact that he usually goes to bed with a lot less clothes on, but he would deal with it just fine. 

He turns to see Craig buried under the blanket, and takes a moment to take him in. His cheeks are still flushed from the cold and his glasses had been removed and set down on the nightstand. He was shivering and cuddled underneath his grey Greendale hoodie. 

“Thanks.” Craig smiled, and Jeff could tell he was still a little fuzzy around the edges. Jeff can feel himself becoming more and more drowsy by the second, the whole event had shaken him out of all his energy, and he could feel his eyes fluttering shut as he tried to stay awake. 

“No problem.” He mumbled, reaching out and taking the fabric clad arm underneath his hand in a comforting gesture. Craig practically melted at his touch, and Jeff rolled his eyes in amusement before pulling himself closer to Craig. 

Normally he just snatches people and pulls them close, not the one night stands -never them- but Annie and Abed and the rest of the group. He’d found himself doing that a lot more lately, especially since Troy left, just snatching those he loves and pulling them close whenever they were close. 

The first time he’d done it to Craig, the man had nearly jumped out of skin with surprise. It had been a late night coming home from work,-they’d been dealing with City College’s new stunt- and it was their first time back in their building for what felt like centuries. 

Craig was swaddled in a bulky blue sweater and pajama pants and yawning with exhaustion as he fought hard to not to fall asleep against the elevator walls. Jeff had taken in the sight, appreciated the vulnerability that was rarely given. He knew Craig always tried to look proper in front of Jeff, even though he failed most of the time, and the fact that the man was trusting him enough to see him while he was running on three hours sleep for the last two days, with bags under his eyes and the most comfortable clothing he owned. It meant a lot. 

Jeff couldn't help but just reach out and snatch him close, he reached out a hand and wrapped around the soft yarn sleeve and yanked him close to his side. Craig had snapped out of his sleepy state quicker than he’d ever done anything in his life and stared up at him in shock. Jeff ignored it in favor of leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. He could feel the stare linger until Craig finally relaxed and leaned against him. 

That had been nice. But he couldn’t yank Craig, not with his ankle in the state it was in. So he pulled himself closer and wrapped his arms around him. Craig didn’t stiffen this time, probably too tired himself as well, and leaned against Jeff, reaching up a hand and tangling it in Jeff’s hair in a loose grip as his breath evened out. Jeff smiled tiredly against his neck before falling asleep as well. He didn't even worry about his hair. 

The next morning was a miracle. He could hear the others mumble about in morning haze as they shifted around, could hear Abed make a tv reference even as his voice was still raspy with sleep and Annie laugh tiredly. He could hear dishes clang about, and the smell of hot coffee filled the whole RV with a mouth watering scent. 

He tightened his grip on Craig’s hip, and Craig mumbled a bit adorably before leaning back against Jeff, leaving the line of his neck exposed. They had shifted in the night, while Craig had been on his back when they went to sleep, he was now on his side with his back to Jeff, his legs tangled in the blanket. Jeff looked down at his injured ankle, relieved to see the swelling had gone down, even if just a little. 

He’d have to see how Craig fared for the rest of the day, to see if he needed to go to the hospital. But for now, he buried his face into Craig’s neck and nuzzled it gently before kissing the soft skin there. 

Craig reached up and tangled his hand in Jeff's hair again, a small breathless smile forming. Jeff trailed up a path of soft kisses, his hand making way from Craig’s hip to the soft of his stomach. A small breathless sound from Craig made him warm as the shaky grip on his hair tightened momentarily before bleary eyes opened. 

Jeff settled back to meet his gaze, and watch the haze fade out from Craig’s eyes as they widened. 

He didn’t leap out of bed, which was good, but he did stiffen. Jeff gave his best reassuring smile before pulling him close again. The stiffness didn't fade until Jeff mumbled a good morning against his neck. 

A knock on the door woke them up again about fifteen minutes later. Jeff mumbled incoherently for whoever was bothering to come in, and peeked out to meet Frankie’s confused stare as she took them in. She looked a little worse for wear, her hair was out of place and her clothes were wrinkled. She was clearly not made for ‘roughing it’, but it was nice that she was down to their level right now. She was always so proper, seeing her out of her element was a bit of a treat. 

“Hey,” She said “we’ll be ready to go in a bit if you want to stretch out beforehand.” 

Jeff had no idea when the RV had gotten fixed, but he sure was grateful for it. Craig mumbled a thank you, waving goodbye as she closed the partition again behind her. Jeff gave him one last squeeze before letting him go so they could get up. 

They stepped out, stretching a bit under the chilly morning sky. Annie greeted them from the blanket she and Abed had wrapped around themselves, a mug of what he assumed was coffee in her hands. Craig himself was wrapped in a blanket, but Jeff had forgone it in favor of not that. 

It was almost an hour before they got back on the road. Frankie had called the buyer to meet them where they were, seeing as they had been almost there when the RV had stopped. The man had shown up fifteen minutes later, which was surprising seeing as they had been forty minutes away from the man’s house. 

They helped him strap it, all while listening to the tragic story of the man’s son, which left them all a little depressed. 

They waved goodbye and then took off, Jeff stole some of Eric’s cereal, and then sat down next to Craig, who was ordered to sit and not move at all for the rest of the trip. The trip back to Greendale was nice, filled with quiet conversation and comfortable silences as they observed the view, even Elroy had managed a laugh or two. 

They got Elroy to drop them off at home instead of back at campus, dropping Abed and Annie off, as well as Britta. Frankie decided to go back to campus to check on things, so they didn't get to see where she lived. Which Jeff thinks she did on purpose. 

Craig and Jeff get dropped off last, and they wave goodbye before heading back in. As they take the elevator up to their apartments, Jeff thinks about the first time he’d pulled Craig close. He smiles, and reaches out a hand, yanking Craig close again and laughing at the surprised noise Craig makes.

Craig doesn’t stiffen, but does look up at him with a question in his eyes. 

“What are you up to?” He asks, playful suspicion in his tone. Jeff shrugs. 

“Just thinking, that you should sleep with me tonight.” 

**Author's Note:**

> hope you had fun guys.


End file.
